Unified web-based interface-to multiple registrar systems

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and method for interfacing multiple registrar systems are presented. A first registrar system is operable to book a domain name for a customer in a first manner. A second registrar system is operable to book a domain name for a customer in a second manner different than the first manner. A means for interfacing the first registrar system and the second registrar system is provided such that the first registrar system and the second registrar system are accessible from a single web site.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.60/125,107, filed Mar. 19, 1999, the disclosure of which is expresslyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of domain name registration.More particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus and method foraccessing multiple registrar systems from a single point.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Registration of a domain name enables an individual or organization touse that particular domain name for a specified period of time, providedcertain conditions are met and payment for services is made. Theindividual or organization to whom a specific domain name is registeredis called the registrant and holds the right to use that specific domainname for a specified period of time. When a potential registrantinitially desires to register a domain name, the registrant needs tochoose a registrar system to handle the registration.

Different registrar systems often utilize different methods ofprocessing registration requests. In the past, it has been necessary toaccess different web sites in order to use the different registrarsystems. This use of different web sites is costly and makes itdifficult for a domain name registration service that maintains both websites to efficiently conduct business with customers.

Accordingly, there is presently a need for a unified web-based interfacefor multiple registrar systems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An apparatus consistent with the present invention provides forinterfacing multiple registrar systems. The apparatus includes: a firstregistrar system operable to book a domain name for a customer in afirst manner; a second registrar system operable to book a domain namefor a customer in a second manner different than the first manner; andmeans for interfacing the first registrar system and the secondregistrar system, the means for interfacing enabling a customer toaccess the first registrar system and the second registrar system from asingle web site.

Another apparatus consistent with the present invention provides forinterfacing multiple registrar systems. The apparatus includes: a firstregistrar system operable to book a domain name for a customer using anelectronic mail interface; a second registrar system operable to book adomain name for a customer using a web-based interface; and means forinterfacing the first registrar system and the second registrar system,the means for interfacing enabling a customer to access the firstregistrar system and the second registrar system from a single web page.

A method consistent with the present invention provides for interfacingmultiple registrar systems. The method includes the steps of: receivinga domain name from a customer; determining whether the domain name isavailable for booking; selecting a registrar system from a firstregistrar system and a second registrar system to book the domain namebased on a determination that the domain name is available for booking,the first registrar system operable to book the domain name using anelectronic mail interface, and the second registrar system operable tobook the domain name using a web-based interface; and booking the domainname using the selected registrar system.

Another method consistent with the present invention provides forinterfacing multiple registrar systems. The method includes the stepsof: receiving a domain name from a customer; checking a flag associatedwith the domain name; directing the customer to a first web page basedon a determination that the flag indicates that the domain name isbooked using a first registrar system; and directing the customer to asecond web page based on a determination that the flag indicates thatthe domain name is booked using a second registrar system, wherein thefirst registrar system is operable to book a domain name using anelectronic mail interface, and the second registrar system is operableto book the domain name using a web-based interface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are incorporated in and constitute a part ofthis specification and, together with the description, explain theadvantages and principles of the invention. In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary network environment in which atechnique consistent with the present invention may be implemented;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an exemplary environment for registering a domainname consistent with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an exemplary environment for reserving a domainname consistent with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an exemplary flowchart of a process for choosing a feature ofa domain name registration service in a manner consistent with thepresent invention;

FIG. 5 is an exemplary flowchart of an initial process for booking a webaddress in a manner consistent with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an exemplary flowchart of a process for registering a webaddress in a manner consistent with the present invention;

FIG. 7 is an exemplary flowchart of a process for reserving a webaddress in a manner consistent with the present invention; and

FIG. 8 is an exemplary flowchart of a process for managing an account ina manner consistent with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description of the invention refers to theaccompanying drawings. While the description includes exemplaryembodiments, other embodiments are possible, and changes may be made tothe embodiments described without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention. The following detailed description does not limit theinvention. Instead, the scope of the invention is defined by theappended claims and their equivalents.

The unified web-based interface of the present invention allows a domainname registration service to present a unified front end for multipleregistrar systems under its control. The previously existing web sitesof the multiple registrar systems point to a new web site. This new sitemakes it easier for customers to do business with the domain nameregistration service. The unified web-based interface, for example,enables customers to access an electronic mail template-based registrarsystem and a web-based registrar system from the same web page.

System Architecture

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary network environment 100 in whichmethods consistent with the present invention may be implemented.Network environment 100 includes: customer 101; Internet 102; BIGIPservers 104 and 106; registration servers 108, 110, 112, and 114;payment servers 116 and 118; and reservation servers 120, 122, and 124.

Customer 101 is an individual or organization that desires to book adomain name with a domain name registration service. The term “book” or“booking” herein broadly refers to the general act of registering adomain name, which may include both the registration and reservation ofdomain names. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, a single domain nameregistration service owns and maintains each of the various servers,e.g., BIGIP servers 104 and 106; registration servers 108, 110, 112, and114; payment servers 116 and 118; and reservation servers 120, 122, and124.

When customer 101 attempts to access the domain name registrationservice through Internet 102, communications are routed to either BIGIPserver 104 or 106. BIGIP servers 104 and 106 are redundant servers thatessentially direct traffic to and from registration servers 108, 110,112, and 144, and to and from payment servers 116 and 118. For example,a customer, such as customer 101, that attempts to access the domainname registration service is initially directed to BIGIP server 104 orto BIG IP server 106 if BIGIP server 104 is busy or not functioningproperly. In turn, BIGIP server 104 or 106 may direct communications toone of registration servers 108, 110, 112, and 114, or payment servers116 and 118.

Essentially, BIG IP servers 104 and 106 balance the load between theattached servers. For example, BIG IP servers 104 and 106 may alternatebetween servers when directing the communications. If one server is toobusy, then data can be sent to another server. In this manner,bottlenecking of data can be avoided. In one embodiment, DNS (DomainName Service) round robin may be used for load balancing. It should beunderstood that the number of servers connected to BIG IP servers 104and 106 can be expanded as needed. If web traffic goes over a desiredlimit, more hosts can be added to stop congestion. BIG IP servers 104and 106 may be implemented, for example, using SunServer machinesavailable from Sun Microsystems.

Registration servers 108, 110, 112, and 114, and payment servers 116 and118 constitute the main servers for a registrar system that utilizes afirst type of system for booking domain names. In one embodiment, thefirst type of system for booking domain names includes an e-mailtemplate-based system. In this embodiment, the term “registration”refers to booking that uses the e-mail template-based registrar system.For example, registration servers 108, 110, 112, and 114 may implement aprocess that handles all registrations for customers that desire to havetheir domain name registered, while payments servers 116 and 118 mayimplement a process that handles all customer payments for registeringdomain names and other available services. Registration servers 108,110, 112, and 114, and payment servers 116 and 118 may each beimplemented using, for example, a SunServer machine available from SunMicrosystems running NSCA web server.

Registration servers 108, 110, 112, and 114 also serve as the initialcontact point for customers no matter what type of registrar system isdesired. For example, even if customer 101 wants to use the registrarsystem that is managed by reservation servers 120, 122, and 124,customer 101 is still initially directed to one of registration server108, 110, 112, and 114. Once access to the registration server has beenmade, customer 101 is presented with a consolidated web page or sitethat includes the options of both domain name registration and domainname reservation. Domain name reservation refers to a booking that usesa web-based system, as opposed to an e-mail template-based system. Theweb page may be implemented with a hypertext markup language (HTML) filethat is resident at each of registration server 108, 110, 112, and 114.Alternatively, each registration server may access the html file fromshared storage. Other options presented to customer 101 upon initialaccess may include e-mail purchase, account management, and whois.

Reservation servers 120, 122, and 124 constitute the main servers for aregistrar system that utilizes a second type of system for bookingdomain names. In one embodiment, the second type of system for bookingdomain names includes a web-based system. This registrar system may beused to reserve domain names once a customer has chosen the domain namereservation option using the web page resident on one of registrationserver 108, 110, 112, and 114. For example, a selection of the domainname reservation option results in the customer being redirected to oneof reservation server 120, 122, and 124, where a process handles alldomain name reservations. Reservation servers 120, 122, and 124 may beload balanced in a manner similar to that described for registrationservers 108, 110, 112, and 114. Registration servers 108, 110, 112, and114 may each be implemented using, for example, a SunServer machineavailable from Sun Microsystems running Apache Stronghold.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an exemplary e-mail template-based registrarsystem for registering a domain name consistent with the presentinvention. Registration server 202 corresponds to any of registrationservers 108, 110, 112, and 114 of FIG. 1. After a customer has decidedto register a domain name using the e-mail template-based registrarsystem, registration server 202 presents the customer with a series ofscreens asking for certain information from the customer. Thisinformation may include the customer's e-mail address, customerinformation, contact information, and name server information. After thecustomer has entered the relevant information and submitted it,registration server 202 e-mails a template containing the information tothe customer at the aforementioned e-mail address. The customer mustverify the information included in the template before e-mailing thetemplate back to registration server 202. Only after the template ise-mailed back to registration server 202 will the request forregistration be processed. Registration server 202 sends the template toregistration database 204 for storage through firewall 206, after it hasbeen determined that registration may proceed. An employee of the domainname registration service may be partially responsible for such adetermination.

Registration database 204 functions as the main database for the e-mailtemplate-based registrar system and stores information related to theregistration of a domain name. For example, the template that includesthe information provided by the customer may be stored in registrationdatabase 204 after it has been determined that the desired domain namedoes not already exist in the database. Registration database 204periodically attempts to move its data to a registry system (not shown)so that new domain names may be officially reserved. A registry isresponsible for delegating Internet addresses, such as Internet Protocol(IP) numbers and domain names, and keeping a record of those addressesand the information associated with their delegation. Examples of domainname registries include NSI's registry operation (e.g., .com, .net, and.org) and the ISO 3166 country code registries (e.g., fr, de, uk, us).If a domain name that originates from registration database 204 isalready stored in the registry, then the domain name is not valid. Thismay happen if a customer from a different domain name registrationservice had previously registered the domain name.

Whois unit 208 periodically causes registration database 204 to transfersome of its data to whois database 210. The data that is periodicallytransferred to whois database 210 is data that is commonly needed toproperly perform whois operations. Whois database 210 may be asearchable database that includes information about networks, networkingorganizations, domain names, and the contacts associated with them.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an exemplary web-based registrar system forreserving a domain name consistent with the present invention.Reservation servers 302, 304, and 306 correspond to reservation servers120, 122, and 124 of FIG. 1. Servlets 308, 310, and 312 are programsthat may be running on reservation servers 302, 304, and 306,respectively. Alternatively, servlets 308, 310, and 312 may run onmachines other than reservation servers 302, 304, and 306. Servlets 308,310, and 312 each operate in substantially the same manner and adescription involving one of them applies to all of them. Servlet 308accepts input data from a customer attempting to reserve a domain nameusing the web-based registrar system. The input data from the customerincludes all of the information needed from the customer by theregistrar system to reserve a domain name. This information may include,for example, information identifying the domain names that are desiredto be reserved, information identifying the customer, paymentinformation, etc. After receiving this input data, servlet 308 sends arequest including the input N, data to cuser unit 314 through firewall313.

Cuser unit 314 functions to receive a request to reserve a domain namefrom servlet 308 and then creates an entry in a primary and secondaryname server for that domain name. Because in this embodiment the domainname registration service that provides the web-based registrar systemalso provides the primary and secondary name servers, the customer doesnot need to supply the system information identifying name servers.Cuser unit 314 performs load balancing to determine which name servershould be designated as the primary name server and which name servershould be designated the secondary name server. After creating theentry, cuser unit 314 passes the request to remote registrationinterface 320.

In one embodiment, each of cuser units 314, 316, and 318 operate insubstantially the same manner and may be implemented using Sunworkstations. Remote registration interface 320 functions to receive therequest from one of the cuser units and places the information from therequest into a template, thereby placing the information into a properformat for reserving a domain name. Once remote registration interface320 puts the information into a template, it passes the template tomessage tracking system 322.

Message tracking system 322 receives templates from remote registrationinterface 320 and attempts to verify the information in the template. Inthis manner, the customer no longer needs to examine the information ina template and e-mail it to the registrar system. After verifying thetemplate information, message tracking system 322 invokes domreg 324,creg 326, and hostreg 328 programs, which complete the reservation.

In one embodiment, domreg 324, creg 326, and hostreg 328 all reside onmessage tracking system 322. Domreg 324 essentially reserves the domainname and populates the N, various databases with the relevantinformation from the template. For example, upon being invoked bymessage tracking system 322 and receiving the template, domreg 324 maystore domain name information from the template in reservation database330. This storage may occur after domreg 324 checks reservation database330 for already existing entries with the desired domain name. Creg 326performs a similar function for customer contact information that ispart of a template. Hostreg 328 performs a similar function for hostname registrations.

Reservation database 330 functions as the main database for theweb-based registrar system and stores information related to thereservation of a domain name. For example, the template that includesall of the information provided by the customer may be stored inreservation database 330 after it has been determined that the desireddomain name does not already exist in the database. Reservation database330 periodically attempts to move its data to a registry so that newdomain names may be officially reserved. If a domain name thatoriginates from reservation database 330 is already stored in theregistry, then the domain name is not valid.

Whois unit 332 and whois database 334 are the same whois unit 208 andwhois database 210 of FIG. 2. Whois unit 332 periodically causesreservation database 330 to transfer some of its data to whois database334. The data that is periodically transferred to whois database 334 isdata that is commonly needed to properly perform whois operations.

Unified Interface

FIG. 4 is an exemplary flowchart of a process for choosing a feature ofa domain name registration service in a manner consistent with thepresent invention. Initially, a customer accesses the home page of adomain name registration service, such as the one offered by NetworkSolutions, Inc. (step 405). Access can be gained, for example, by usinga web browser N, to access the home page. This web page is essentially aunified interface for many of the features available from the domainname registration service including the multiple registrar systems andis resident on each of the registration servers 108, 110, 112, and 114.The page makes it easier for customers to do business with the domainname registration service by enabling the customers to access thevarious features from a single web page. Alternatively, the unifiedinterface could be presented to the customer in the form of more thanone web page. In this case, efficient business from customers is stillfacilitated because the multiple web pages are each linked to oneinitial home page and are part of the same web site. Furthermore, theunified interface does not need to be the home page of the domain nameregistration service. It can merely be a web page that can be accessedfrom the home page.

Once the customer accesses the web page, the customer is presented withseveral features that the domain name registration service provides. Thecustomer must then choose one of the features (step 410). The featuresmay include a whois feature, a book web address feature, an accountmanagement feature, and an email feature. If the customer chooses thewhois feature, then the unified interface directs the customer to a webpage where a whois search or operation may be properly processed (step415). If the customer chooses the email feature, then the unifiedinterface directs the customer to a web page where an optional emailservice offered by the domain name registration service may be purchasedby the customer (step 430). If the customer chooses the book web addressfeature, then the unified interface initiates the book web addressfeature (step 420). The term “booking a web address” covers bothregistering and reserving a web address (e.g., domain name). In oneembodiment, the book web address feature is initiated by the customerentering a desired domain name in a box on the unified interface webpage. If N, the customer chooses the account management feature, thenthe unified interface directs the customer to a proper accountmanagement page (step 425). It should be understood that many morefeatures than those discussed above may be made available to thecustomer.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary flowchart of an initial process for booking(e.g., registering or reserving) a web address in a manner consistentwith the present invention. To initiate the booking process, thecustomer enters the desired domain name in a box on the unifiedinterface web page (step 505). Upon receiving the domain name, theunified interface initiates a whois-based query to check for domainavailability (step 510). The whois-based query provides a search of thewhois database for an entry with the entered domain name. If such anentry is found, then the domain name is not available. If no such entryis found, then the domain name is available. If the whois-based queryresults in the determination that the desired domain name is notavailable, then the unified interface informs the customer that thedomain name is not available and shows the customer some possiblealternatives to the domain name initially selected (step 515). Forexample, if a customer desired to book a domain name of “mydomain.com”,but the domain name was not available, the unified interface makes adetermination as to whether or not “mydomain.net” or “mydomain.org” wereavailable. If either one of these domain names is available, then theunified interface informs the customer of the available alternatives.Note that other top-level domains in addition to “.com”, “.net”, and“.org” may be searched for both initially and as alternatives. Theunified interface may direct the customer to enter or select anotherdomain name after showing the customer the alternatives.

If the whois-based query results in the determination that the desireddomain name is available, then the unified interface informs thecustomer that the domain name is available and may show the customersome possible alternatives in addition to the domain name initiallyselected (step 520). For example, if a customer desires to book a domainname of “mydomain.com”, and the domain name is available, the unifiedinterface may also make a determination as to whether or not“mydomain.net” or “mydomain.org” are available.

After learning that the desired domain name is available, the customermay choose to enter more domain names to check for availability (step525). If the customer decides to include an additional name, then thatname is checked for availability in a manner consistent with thewhois-based query described above. In one embodiment, the customer maychoose up to nine additional domain names for a total of ten. In thismanner, a virtual shopping cart of up to ten domain names may becreated. It should be understood that the maximum number of domain namesmay be altered. Each time the customer selects a domain name and thatname is available, the unified interface may show all of the availabledomain names that have been selected by the customer in the presentsession along with a sum of the charges, including both the reservationand registration prices.

If the customer decides not to include any more additional names, thenthe unified interface provides the customer with an option to book thedomain names with either a registration process or a reservation process(step 530). The first type of registrar system (e.g., e-mailtemplate-based registrar system) carries out registration, and thesecond type of registrar system (e.g., web-based registrar system)carries out reservation. In one embodiment, the unified interface allowsthe customer to decide how each individual domain name should be booked.For example, if a customer has ten domain names to be booked, thecustomer may decide to register three of them and reserve seven of them.After the customer has designated how each domain name should be booked,the unified interface provides the customer with an updated sum ofcharges and initiates the register web address process to register eachof the domain names that the customer designated to be registered (step535). After each registration is completed, the unified interfaceinitiates the reserve web address process to reserve each of the domainnames that the customer designated to be reserved (step 540).Alternatively, the unified interface may opt to reserve domain namesbefore registering domain names.

Domain Name Registration

FIG. 6 is an exemplary flowchart of a process for registering a webaddress (e.g., domain name) in a manner consistent with the presentinvention. After the customer has selected registration, theregistration server directs the customer to a page that asks whether ornot the customer is an existing customer (step 605). If the customer isan existing customer, the customer enters a NIC handle (step 615), whichis a unique identifier assigned to each domain name record, contactrecord, network record, etc. Upon receiving the NIC handle, theregistration server retrieves information associated with the NIC handleand prepopulates a domain name registration agreement template with therelevant information (step 620). For example, the following informationmay be prepopulated into the template: registrant (organization orindividual) information, administrative contact information, technicalcontact information, and billing contact information. Registrantinformation may include information such as name, street address, city,state, etc. Administrative contact information may include information,such as name, street address, state, phone number, e-mail, etc.Technical contact information may include information, such as name,street address, state, phone number, e-mail, etc. Billing contactinformation may include information, such as name, street address,state, phone number, e-mail, etc.

After the information has been entered, the registration server thenpresents the prepopulated template to the customer. Some of the templatefields, however, may still need to be completed by the customer (step625). These fields may include the e-mail address of the customer andname server information. The e-mail address of the customer may be vitalbecause the completed template needs to be e-mailed to the customer andreturned before registration can be completed. Name server informationincludes at least a primary server host name, a primary server IPaddress, a secondary server host name, and a secondary server IPaddress. The customer may provide host names and IP addresses for moreservers, but they are not absolutely necessary. The primary andsecondary servers are servers hosted by the ISP or web hosting companywith whom the customer has made previous arrangements.

If the customer is not an existing customer, the customer must completean empty template (e.g., template without the aforementionedprepopulated information). In this case, the customer must provideregistrant information, administrative contact information, technicalcontact information, billing contact information, customer e-mailaddress, and name server information (step 610).

After the empty template or prepopulated template has been completed,the customer is presented with a summary of the cost, instructed toprovide information on method of payment (e.g., invoice or credit card),and required to accept a legal agreement between the customer and thedomain name registration service. The completed template is thene-mailed to the customer at the customer's e-mail address (step 630).The customer, having received the template via e-mail, verifies theinformation that is provided in the template (step 635), and thene-mails the N, template back to the registration server. Once theregistration server receives the template (step 640), the registrationserver e-mails a tracking number back to the customer. This trackingnumber is the NIC handle that may be used in future dealings with thedomain name registration service. Employees of the domain nameregistration service may also process the template to ensure that it iscomplete and correctly formatted, etc. The registration server nextregisters the web address (e.g., domain name) by storing the domainname(s) in registration database 204 and attempting to move the domainname from registration database 204 to the registry (step 645).Registration occurs, for example, n the manner described with referenceto FIG. 3 above. The registration server informs the customer as to thesuccess or failure of the registration.

Domain Name Reservation

FIG. 7 is an exemplary flowchart of a process for reserving a webaddress in a manner consistent with the present invention. After thecustomer has selected reservation, the registration server redirects thecustomer to reservation server 120, 122, or 124, where the customer isdirected to a page that asks whether or not the customer is an existingcustomer (step 705). If the customer is an existing customer, then thecustomer enters a username and a password (step 710), resulting in theprepopulation of the form that is required to be completed by thecustomer (step 715). Information that may be prepopulated into the formincludes account holder information, contact information, and accountpassword information. Account holder and contact information may bothinclude information, such as name, street address, state, e-mailaddress, phone number, etc. Account password information may includeinformation, such as the customer's password and a question to thecustomer in case the password is forgotten. After the form has beenprepopulated, the customer may still have to complete a portion of theform (step 720). For example, the domain name registration service maymake certain options available to a customer choosing reservation, andthe customer designates whether or not those options are desired.

If the customer is not an existing customer, then the customerdesignates whether he or she is reserving a domain name for a company orfor an individual (step 718). After this designation, the customercompletes the form in its entirety, including the account holderinformation, the contact information, the password information, and theinformation indicative of the options chosen (step 720).

After the empty form or prepopulated form has been completed, thecustomer submits the completed form to the reservation server byclicking on a button on a web page (step 725). The reservation serverthen presents the customer with a summary of the cost, requests creditcard information from the customer, and requires the customer to accepta legal agreement between the customer and the domain name registrationservice. Once the legal agreement has been accepted, the registrationserver proceeds to initiate the reservation process by sending the formfrom the servlet running on the reservation server to a cuser unit (step730). This process occurs, for example, in the manner described withreference to FIG. 3 above. The reservation server informs the customeras to the success or failure of the reservation.

Account Management

FIG. 8 is an exemplary flowchart of a process for managing an account ina manner consistent with the present invention. Account management isused when an existing customer desires to perform operations other thandomain name booking (e.g., registration or reservation). Such operationsmay include domain modifications as well as contact and hostregistrations. For example, a customer that desires to replace anexisting contact with a new contact, change ISP or web host company nameserver information, correct misspellings in the name of the registrant,or transfer a domain name registration to another registrant may do sousing account management.

Account management is initiated by the customer from the home page ofthe domain name registration service (e.g., the unified interface webpage) by clicking on the appropriate button. The registration serverthen directs the customer to a page where the customer is asked to enterthe domain name for which account management is desired (step 805). Uponreceiving the domain name from the customer, the registration serverinitiates a whois search for a flag designating whether the customer isa registration customer or a reservation customer (step 810).Specifically, the registration server searches the whois database for aflag associated with the record for the entered domain name. In oneembodiment, the flag may include something very inconspicuous, such as aperiod.

After checking the whois flag for the domain name, a determination ismade as to whether the flag indicates that the domain name was reserved,as opposed to registered (step 815). If the flag indicates reservation,then the registration server redirects the customer to a web pageresident on a reservation server, where the customer is instructed tosign-in (e.g., enter a username and password) (step 825). After thecustomer's username and password are verified, the reservation serverdirects the customer to the reservation account management page (step830), where the customer may perform any of the account managementoptions available. If the flag indicates registration, then theregistration server directs the customer to a registration accountmanagement web page resident on the registration server (step 820),where the customer may perform the appropriate account managementfunctions.

While the present invention has been described in connection with apreferred embodiment, many modifications will be readily apparent tothose skilled in the art, and this application is intended to cover anyadaptations or variations thereof. One skilled in the art willappreciate that all or part of the systems and methods consistent withthe present invention may be stored on or read from computer-readablemedia, such as secondary storage devices, like hard disks, floppy disks,and CD-ROM; a carrier wave received from a network such as the Internet;or other forms of ROM or RAM. This invention should be limited only bythe claims and equivalents thereof.

1. A method for booking domain names, comprising: in response toreceiving at least one domain name from a customer, determining whetherthe domain name is available; if the domain name is available,presenting an option to book the domain name to the customer, the optionto book the domain name including an option to reserve the domain nameand an option to register the domain name; in response to receiving adomain name reservation request from the customer, prompting thecustomer for a username and a password; in response to receiving theusername and the password from the customer, presenting a domain namereservation form to the customer; in response to receiving a completeddomain name reservation form from the customer, presenting a costsummary, a request for payment and a legal agreement to the customer; inresponse to receiving payment information and an acceptance of the legalagreement from the customer, reserving the domain name.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the domain name reservation form includes accountholder information, contact information and account passwordinformation.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: in responseto receiving a domain name registration request from the customer,prompting the customer for an NIC handle, in response to receiving theNIC handle from the customer, presenting a domain name registrationagreement template to the customer; in response to receiving a completeddomain name registration agreement from the customer, presenting a costsummary, a request for payment and a legal agreement to the customer; inresponse to receiving payment information and an acceptance of the legalagreement from the customer, sending a first electronic mail message,including the completed domain name registration agreement, to thecustomer; and in response to receiving a second electronic mail message,including a verified domain name registration agreement, from thecustomer, registering the domain name.
 4. The method of claim 3, whereinthe domain name registration agreement template includes registrantinformation, administrative contact information, technical contactinformation and billing contact information.
 5. The method of claim 4,wherein the completed domain name registration agreement includes acustomer electronic mail address and name server information.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: in response to receiving thedomain name from the customer, determining at least one alternativedomain name based on the domain name; presenting the alternative domainname to the customer; and receiving the alternative domain name from thecustomer for booking.
 7. A system for booking domain names over anetwork, comprising: at least one load balancing server, coupled to thenetwork, adaptively configured to: receive a booking request, includingat least one domain name, from a customer; a plurality of registrationservers, coupled to the network, the load balancing server and aregistration database, each of the plurality of registration serversadaptively configured to: receive the booking request forwarded from theload balancing server, determine whether the domain name is available,if so determined, present an option to book the domain name to thecustomer, the option to book the domain name including an option toreserve the domain name and an option to register the domain name, andreceive a domain name reservation request from the customer; and aplurality of reservation servers, coupled to the network, the loadbalancing server and a reservation database, each of the plurality ofreservation servers adaptively configured to: receive the domain namereservation request forwarded from one of the plurality of registrationservers, prompt the customer for a username and a password, present adomain name reservation form to the customer in response to receipt ofthe username and the password from the customer, present a cost summary,a request for payment and a legal agreement to the customer in responseto receipt of a completed domain name reservation form from thecustomer, and reserve the domain name in response to receipt of paymentinformation and an acceptance of the legal agreement from the customer.8. The system of claim 7, wherein the domain name reservation formincludes account holder information, contact information and accountpassword information.
 9. The system of claim 7, wherein the each of theplurality of registration servers is further adapted to: prompt thecustomer for an NIC handle in response to receipt of a domain nameregistration request from the customer; present a domain nameregistration agreement template to the customer in response to receiptof the NIC handle from the customer; present a cost summary, a requestfor payment and a legal agreement to the customer in response to receiptof a completed domain name registration agreement from the customer;send a first electronic mail message, including the completed domainname registration agreement, to the customer in response to receipt ofpayment information and an acceptance of the legal agreement from thecustomer; and register the domain name in response to receipt of asecond electronic mail message, including a verified domain nameregistration agreement, from the customer.
 10. The system of claim 9,wherein the domain name registration agreement template includesregistrant information, administrative contact information, technicalcontact information and billing contact information.
 11. The system ofclaim 10, wherein the completed domain name registration agreementincludes a customer electronic mail address and name server information.